E.D. White runs to win over West St. Mary

THIBODAUX -- E.D. White Catholic closed each quarter with a run Tuesday night to pick up a 72-41 District 7-3A victory over West St. Mary.

“We said (to the guys) on Sunday that the two keys to this game were keeping them off the offensive boards and executing on offense,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Keife said. “I thought we did a good job of that early on which set the tempo for the rest of the game. I thought that even when they put some pressure on us we kept our composure, and we continued to execute offensively, which allowed us to get some good looks on offense.”

E.D. White (19-7, 3-1 district) wasted no time establishing a lead in the first quarter as the Cardinals scored the game’s first 10 points. The Cardinals scored the final six points of the quarter to lead 22-12 at the end of the period.

After West St. Mary’s Deondre Craig opened the second quarter with a field goal, E.D. White scored nine of the next 11 points to establish a 31-16 lead with 4:34 left.

The Cardinals’ Cory Adams scored five points in the last 6 seconds of the first half to give E.D. White a 38-24 lead at halftime.

Leading 48-36 with 3:19 remaining in the third quarter, the Cardinals put the game out of reach with a 16-2 run that lasted into the fourth quarter, with all their points on two-point field goals. After a 3-pointer by West St. Mary’s Jonah Jack, the Cardinals scored the game’s final eight points.

“E.D. White is coached very well,” West St. Mary assistant coach Danté Jones said. “They ran the pick-and-roll very well and got some easy baskets. Our guys came out a little lax on defense tonight. Our offense couldn’t get in a groove, and we missed some easy baskets. They gave us one shot, and that pretty much sums it up.”

E.D. White won its second straight district game by executing its offense.

The Lady Cardinals (9-12, 4-2) outscored West St. Mary 9-4 through the first 4 minutes of the second quarter for a 21-13 lead, including four points each from Jazmin Carter and Ashley Adams. West St. Mary (19-11, 3-2) trailed 24-19 at halftime.

The margin was 36-28 after three quarters.

The closest West St. Mary got in the fourth quarter was 44-38 with 2:21 left in the game. E.D. White dribbled the ball at the other end for long stretches after that point, and scored its next five points on free throws while the Wolfpack only scored one field goal at the buzzer.

“We took advantage of our offensive opportunities,” E.D. White coach Marcey Zeringue said. “We missed a couple of shots, but for the most part we took advantage of what they were giving us. We forced them to change defenses like three or four times. They stumped us a little bit when they went man-to-man in the fourth quarter, but once we got our composure back, we handled ourselves pretty well.”